Thursday, October 22, 2009 8:49 PM, CDT

Another super rainy day in Little Rock. If it were Monday and I was at home it would be wonderful - Mama and I always love rainy Mondays. It is only 13 miles to the clinic from here and it took us over an hour to get home. Rain, traffic and terrible roads - nerve wrecking.

Mark’s weight is going back down to his relief - no more Michelin Man. All of his injections are in his tummy and it is a running joke at the clinic - they put the injections in the fatty parts - it is the only pudgy part on him and he has just about lost that. He has so many dots on his tummy the nurses tease him with “now we can play connect the dots”! The nurses have a great upbeat attitude and sense of humor - they make all this bearable. They work 12 hours shifts - God bless these wonderful people.

Mark’s white blood count dropped overnight from 2.35 to .22 - so now he is wearing his mask all the time. He thinks he is incognito - asking the nurses, “Do you know me?”
Our APN told us that should be as low as his WBC goes and now it should begin to rise. When the doctors like the count he will go in for the stem cell collection, hopefully in about a week. A different port will be installed for the collection and the harvest will take a couple of days at least. If all stays on schedule we should be able to go home for a couple of weeks to recoup before he gets the transplant. We are so excited with the prospect of going home!

His magnesium was down again today so he was given another little infuser to wear home - I was better at the disconnect and flushing this time. They also gave him one with an antibiotic to keep in the frig in case he gets a fever. I will have to connect that one if he needs it. His sodium is still a bit low so he can eat all the salt he wants - chips, pickles, olives and salt tablets. He just can’t drink water so it’s not quite as much fun. Mark is so blessed to be able to sleep through much of this. No nausea, just a little bit of queasiness is all that he has had.

Our little apartment is beginning to seem like home. Funny how you can live just fine without all that stuff you have collected over the years. I love not having so much to clean. Just wish I had lots of toys all over the floor.

Please continue to pray for us.
We love your CB notes, Thank you all.

Lots of love,
Mrs. Rip van Winkle

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